Sharon Prior
CIO | Digital Transformation & AI Strategy Advisor | Former CIO, Heathrow Airport | Board Advisor | Founder, Inovivo
Sharon (Gilkes) Prior is an award-winning technology leader, board advisor and transformation specialist with more than 25 years of experience shaping intelligent, resilient enterprises across the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Known for her calm authourity, strategic clarity and values-led leadership, Sharon is trusted by C-suites and boards to navigate complexity, stabilise high-risk programmes and turn stalled transformation into measurable progress. She brings a rare ability to connect enterprise technology decisions with culture, governance and real-world delivery.
Her career spans senior leadership roles across highly regulated and mission-critical sectors including pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, transport and aviation. Most recently, as Chief Information Officer at Heathrow Airport, Sharon led enterprise-wide digital transformation programmes, introduced robust cyber assurance frameworks and redesigned the IT operating model to align technology, customer experience and business strategy at scale.
Sharon’s expertise sits at the intersection of technology, leadership and risk. She is frequently called upon to support organisations with modern IT operating models, large-scale digital and data transformation, cyber security and digital assurance embedded into governance and cross-functional collaboration where confidence and delivery have broken down. Alongside this, she coaches senior executives and leadership teams through periods of complexity, change and organisational pressure.
After three decades inside global organisations, Sharon founded Inovivo to do consulting differently. Having sat in the executive hot seat herself, she understands the reality of delivering high-stakes transformation under intense scrutiny, limited budgets and unforgiving timelines. Inovivo was created as a boutique consultancy with heavyweight expertise. No junior teams, no theoretical slide decks and no disappearing acts.
Inovivo works directly with executive teams across the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Arab Emirates to solve the problems that stall progress and expose risk. The approach is sharp, fast and grounded in accountability, with Sharon personally involved in shaping strategy and delivery. Clients value the straight talk, hands-on leadership and results that endure beyond the engagement.
Alongside her advisory work, Sharon is a committed advocate for inclusion in technology and leadership. She is a visible role model for underrepresented leaders navigating complex, high-pressure environments and is known for building cultures rooted in integrity, psychological safety and performance.
Sharon holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Laws from The Open University. Her work continues to influence how organisations think about technology not as an isolated function, but as a core driver of trust, resilience and long-term value.
In this conversation, Sharon reflects candidly on the realities of leadership, bias, power and transformation, offering grounded insights shaped by decades of experience at the highest levels of technology and governance.
All information and links were correct at the date of original publication on
23 Jan 2026
As a technology leader and board advisor what specific strategies have you employed or witnessed that effectively address and counteract the systemic biases and microaggressions often faced by BAME women in tech?
One of the most important things I have learned is that bias in tech is rarely explicit. It is usually systemic, subtle and embedded in how trust, authourity and credibility are distributed.
What has helped me most is focusing on structure rather than emotion. I anchor decisions in evidence, outcomes and clear governance. Bias thrives where things are vague. When success metrics, decision rights and accountability are explicit, there is far less room for subjective judgement or double standards.
I have also become very intentional about understanding how power operates inside organisations. Who influences decisions? Where do narratives form? Once you understand that, you can address bias strategically rather than personally.
Over time, I have learned that reframing these issues in terms of organisational risk, performance and leadership credibility is far more effective than framing them as individual experiences alone.
What leadership styles and personal qualities do you believe have been essential to your success as a technology leader and board advisor and how do you cultivate these traits in your day-to-day professional life?
Three qualities stand out for me.
The first is calm authority. I lead without noise or performative dominance. Staying composed in complex, high-pressure environments builds trust and creates space for better decisions.
The second is systems thinking. I naturally see organisations as interconnected ecosystems rather than silos. That perspective is critical at board level, where every decision has second and third order consequences.
The third is moral courage, paired with commercial discipline. I am willing to challenge unsafe norms or flawed decisions, but always grounded in evidence and impact. Values without rigour rarely influence outcomes and rigour without values ultimately erodes trust.
I cultivate these traits through reflection, continuous learning and by surrounding myself with people who challenge my thinking rather than simply affirm it.
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How important has mentorship been in your career and what can organisations do to improve mentorship opportunities for BAME women in digital and tech fields
Mentorship has mattered in my career, but it has been inconsistent. What made the biggest difference was not advice, but advocacy. People who were willing to speak for me when I was not in the room.
Many organisations offer mentorship programmes that look good on paper but lack real influence. For BAME women, that can be frustrating and, at times, misleading.
What truly works is sponsorship. Leaders who are accountable for opening doors, backing talent and using their authourity to create opportunity. Organisations need to move from passive mentorship schemes to sponsored progression models with real ownership at senior levels.
Can you share an experience from your career where a lack of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) within your work environment had a significant impact on you? How did you navigate that situation?
I have worked in environments where difference was acknowledged but not fully trusted. In those settings, contribution was welcomed, but authourity was questioned more often and scrutiny was uneven.
I navigated that by staying anchored in evidence and outcomes, documenting patterns rather than reacting to isolated incidents and protecting my professional credibility.
Ultimately, I chose to leave rather than allow my confidence or integrity to be eroded over time. I now see that decision not as failure, but as leadership. Knowing when to exit a misaligned environment is sometimes the most self-respecting choice you can make.
In your opinion, how has the rhetoric from high-profile figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk impacted DEI efforts in the tech sector? Have you observed any changes in corporate policies or culture as a result e.g. Europe, US and Middle East?
There has definitely been a shift in tone, particularly in US-centric tech ecosystems. In some cases, DEI has been reframed or diluted under the banner of “meritocracy”, without acknowledging that merit does not operate in a neutral system.
In Europe, DEI tends to be more closely linked to governance, ESG and long-term risk. In the Middle East, I see a more pragmatic approach, where inclusion aligns with national transformation agendas rather than ideology.
The real risk is not open opposition to DEI. It is performative commitment without accountability or outcomes.
Given the current landscape, how do you foresee the future of DEI initiatives within the tech industry evolving over the next decade and what role do you think tech leaders should play in this evolution?
I do not believe DEI will disappear, but it must evolve to remain credible.
We will see a shift away from purely identity-led narratives toward outcome-led inclusion. DEI will increasingly sit at board level, tied to resilience, innovation and performance rather than HR programmes alone.
Tech leaders have a responsibility to position inclusion as critical infrastructure for sustainable growth, not as a moral add-on.
In your view, what are some of the key factors driving many women, especially within the tech and digital sectors, to establish their own firms and how do these entrepreneurial ventures address challenges faced in traditional corporate environments?
Most women do not leave corporate tech because they lack ambition. They leave because legacy power structures restrict how that ambition can be expressed.
Entrepreneurship offers autonomy, alignment and the ability to design culture intentionally rather than retrofit it later. Founding my own ventures allowed me to align values, pace and performance from the outset.
For many women, entrepreneurship is not an exit from leadership. It is a re-entry on better terms.
What advice would you offer to young BAME women aspiring to enter the digital and tech industries, especially considering the challenges that might be exacerbated by current socio-political climates?
My advice is grounded and practical.
Build technical and commercial fluency early. Learn to read organisations not just as processes, but as systems of power and influence. Seek sponsors, not just mentors.
But above all, protect your confidence as fiercely as your competence. Structural barriers are not a reflection of your worth. Your presence in tech is not a concession. It is a contribution.
Leadership with Purpose, Power and Precision
Sharon (Gilkes) Prior exemplifies a generation of technology leaders who understand that digital transformation is not simply about systems, data or artificial intelligence, but about power, trust, culture and courage. Her journey from executive leadership to founding Inovivo reflects a deliberate choice to reshape how organisations think about transformation, governance and inclusion.
Sharon’s insights remind us that real leadership is measured not by visibility, but by impact. Not by rhetoric, but by outcomes and not by comfort, but by the willingness to challenge flawed systems with evidence, integrity and calm authority.
In a decade where technology, geopolitics and organisational culture will be deeply intertwined, her voice offers a grounded, strategic and unapologetically human blueprint for leaders who want to build intelligent enterprises that are not only high-performing, but just, resilient and future-ready.
To connect with Sharon and learn more about her work in shaping intelligent, resilient organisations, you can reach her via the links below.
Mail: connect@inovivo-digital.com
Website: https://inovivo.co.uk/